Anna Rousillion’s feature documentary I Am the People follows Farraj and his family through four tumultuous years in Egyptian history, beginning just before revolution and chronicling their lives in its aftermath. Farraj, the film’s protagonist, is a wiry farmer in the southern province of Luxor, who earns a living tilling …
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State Control Over Film Production in Egypt
This essay is part of an ethnographic study of Egyptian film production conducted between August 2013 and September 2015. The study is centered on participant observation within two main film companies, New Century Film Production and Al-Batrik Art Production, in addition to interviews conducted with key actors in the industry …
Read More »Public Culture and Islam in Modern Egypt
On November 21, 2016, the Middle East Centre of St Antony’s College, Oxford hosted the roundtable and launch of Public Culture and Islam in Modern Egypt: Media, Intellectuals and Society (London: I.B.Tauris, 2016) with myself and Morgan Clarke (Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology, Oxford) who is a social anthropologist …
Read More »The Birth and Death of 25TV: Innovation in Post-Revolution Egyptian TV News Formats
Abstract This case study highlights an experiment that aimed to disrupt traditional television news production and presentation models in post-revolution Egypt. It is a snapshot of a brief moment in Egyptian television history when an attempt was made at innovating news production and content, but much like the Egyptian revolution, …
Read More »Revolutionary Art or “Revolutonizing Art”? Making Art on the Streets of Cairo
In an article published on December 17, 2014, Surti Singh, an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the American University in Cairo (AUC), wrote that “a new set of questions is crystallizing about the role of art in contemporary Egypt” and posed the following questions: “Can art still preserve the revolutionary …
Read More »FILM REVIEW | Pressurized Conflict Laid Bare in Clash
Eshtebak (Clash) defies convenient stereotypes of heroes and villains. There are no comfortable answers, and there is no feel-good storyline; it is unapologetically raw and gritty. Clash compels audiences to doubt their perceptions of conflict and political antagonism, a vexing challenge for an Egyptian public accustomed to propagandist narratives on …
Read More »Egypt Prohibits Police Officers from Speaking to Media
August 9, 2016—Egypt's parliament approved legislation prohibiting police officers from sharing work-related information with media outlets today. The push for reform is due in part to recurrent complaints, many from human rights lawyers, of abuse and torture in police custody.
Read More »Egypt Court Postpones Rabaa Dispersal Trial
August 9, 2016—The Cairo Criminal Court adjourned the “Rabaa Dispersal” trial until September 6 during today’s court session. Among the nearly 740 defendants are Egyptian photographer Shawkan and important Muslim Brotherhood figures.
Read More »A CLOSER LOOK | Ultras Ahlawy: The Narratives of Egyptian Sports Media
July 31, 2016—Friction between passionate football supporters and their depiction in sports media has developed over the past few years. Ultras Ahlawy, the Egyptian organization under which the fans gather, is at the epicenter of violence and anti-government conspiracy theories.
Read More »Egyptian Filmmaker Mohamed Khan Dies at 73
July 26, 2016—Following a sudden health crisis, Egyptian director and filmmaker Mohamed Khan died this morning at age 73. He changed the face of Egyptian cinema in the 1980s with the expansion of neo-realism. Khan was born in Cairo in 1942 and studied at the London International Film School.
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